Trump Nixes Iran Truce, Posts 'Trump Strait' Graphic

President Trump has brushed off a weeklong pause in fighting with Iran and is telling aides to anticipate airstrikes resuming once the midterm elections are over, according to US officials. Tehran's offer: Reopen the Strait of Hormuz, restart nuclear talks, and ease attacks on shipping in exchange for the US lifting its naval blockade and offering sanctions relief on oil, as well as providing access to frozen assets, reports the Wall Street Journal. Trump publicly insists that politics aren't shaping his Iran moves and that his sole aim is preventing Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon.

The president also suggests that Iran is "begging for a deal," per the Journal. Privately, however, officials say he doubts Iran will accept his conditions and sees renewed strikes as probable, though perhaps not on the scale of major combat. Mediated talks continue, but Washington is betting that economic pressure—and a reinforced effort to keep tankers moving—will eventually force Iran to a deal on US terms. Meanwhile, in regard to the Strait of Hormuz, Trump posted a graphic late Friday on his Truth Social platform showing a map of the region, with the strait circled on the map and labeled "Trump Strait," reports the AP.